


"I imagined [you] differently."

by EveandJohnny



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri., Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 18:25:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11950047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveandJohnny/pseuds/EveandJohnny
Summary: One-shots about the DigiDestined as Jaeger Pilots and their life in the Shatterdomes. With cameos from our beloved Pacific Rim heroes.





	1. Aqua Beetle II

**Author's Note:**

> This started with the Freebie prompt of Digimon OTP Week 2017 but then I needed to write about the pairs I had just introduced in the prompt but not fully explored. So this is what I'm doing here. For reference, and also because it's the starting point to all of this, I'm including the OTP Week prompt here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like the events in Pacifim Rim, this takes place when the four remaining Jaegers are brought together in Tokyo. Koushirou is a Ranger but then his Co-Pilot gets injured and he needs a replacement.

The first time Taichi laid eyes on the inside of the Shatterdome in Tokyo he was shocked. Throngs of people bustled through the enormous building. Heaps of metal climbed into what could only be the sky as the cupola was not visible from down there. Lights blinked everywhere, and above the steel gate he had just passed an enormous clock was installed, the seconds flipping stoically.

 "Hey!" a booming voice came straight towards him. He turned and saw a sturdy Afro-American with a white beard stomping through the gate. "You are the new technician? They told me about a tall Japanese guy with hair as wild as a lion’s. You know, I couldn't believe it but they were not joking." He had now reached Taichi and looked up to him, but Taichi felt intimidated.

He only managed a stumbled "Ah, well, yeah, I suppose, that's me, er."

"Not the most eloquent, are you? Anyway, we need every hand. You said in your interview you're good at precision engineering? Well, come along then. I'm Joseph by the way, your foreman. But we're not really into the hierarchy thing here. Except for Pentecost. You know Stacker Pentecost? He's the head of this whole operation; he's the reason why we're all still on board. He can make the difference, you know?"

 Taichi just nodded, too overwhelmed by Joseph's hearty verbiage. He followed him down the metal-covered alleyways, past the quarters of the Rangers where he lingered a little before Joseph urged him to hurry further. Taichi would have loved to be a Ranger but he had missed the passing mark in the geography test by one point. In everything else he had excelled but then, in his excitement to be so close to passing, he had forgotten that Sydney was _not_ located on the west coast of Australia.

Out of one of the rooms emerged a short young man with neatly cut red hair in a Ranger training suit. When he saw Taichi he nodded, the tiniest of smiles playing on his lips.

***

Taichi proved to be a very reliable and hard-working technician. With his help, Josef managed to repair the disrupted left-hemisphere connections of the Jaeger _Winged Cactus_ in less than half the time he usually needed for such tasks.

When they sat in the break room, Josef interrogating the new employee, they suddenly heard a loud metallic impact, followed by a shocking scream and noisy turmoil. They immediately rushed to the tower where the Jaeger _Soaring Wolf_ was stationed. A finger of the slim and nimble robot had crashed down, but thank goodness only had buried one of the Ranger’s legs. It could have been worse, though. In similar accidents they had had dead to mourn.  
When they arrived at the scene, a crowd had already gathered. Medics were tending to the lanky man with bluish black hair whose face was a mask of horror and pain. Beside him knelt the red-haired Ranger Taichi had seen earlier this day. Suddenly, the crowd parted like the red sea for Moses and a tall black man in a neat dark blue uniform walked into the inner circle.

 “How could this happen?” Stacker Pentecost needn’t to raise his voice, it was full enough to carry through the tumult and end it at once. Everyone stepped back so the head of the resistance had access to the wounded Pilot.

 “We cannot be sure yet but we suppose that the connecting bolts were not secured correctly. We are currently investigating the event” a technician of this department informed him.

 “This is the last thing we could do with; a Kaiju can attack at any moment. But it has happened; there is nothing we can change about it now. So, take Kido to the medical centre, and we have to look for a replacement for him immediately.”

 Taichi pricked his ears. This was the chance he had waited for. He hesitated not a second but stepped forward directly next to Pentecost.  
“Uhm, sir, I might be just the person you are looking for.” His voice trembled a little, but it was loud enough for everybody to hear.

Pentecost turned to him. “And you are?”

“Yagami Taichi, sir. I was hired as technician but attended a Pilot training course.”

He had Pentecost’s full attention now. “Why did you not apply as a Pilot then?”

That was the point Taichi had wanted to manoeuvre around. As this proved impossible, he decided to tackle it head on. “I missed graduation by one point because I placed Sydney on the west coast of Australia in the geography test.”

Pentecost eyed him with an indecipherable look, then turned to his assistant and ordered Taichi’s file.  
 Taichi felt as if he stood on hot coals when he first waited for the assistant to return and then for Pentecost to read the file. It seemed like an eternity.

 “You have an outstanding score in the simulator and your health data is exceptional. I cannot believe they didn’t let you in just because of that little mistake” he told Taichi with the touch of a smile, and then he turned to the red-haired Ranger. “Izumi, go and test your drift compatibility with Yagami. I expect you here in an hour for report.”

The Ranger named Izumi bowed, then took Taichi’s elbow and pulled him away. Taichi managed a half bow towards Pentecost before staggering after him.

***

By the late afternoon Taichi got a Pilot suit fitted for him. After he had slipped into his new equipment, he went to a meeting with Koushirou Izumi, as his new partner had properly introduced himself. He wanted to show him, the rookie, their new working place or, as he had put it when inviting him to it, their second home. Their Jaeger, _Aqua Beetle_ , was a hunky blue, white, and red painted robot with one of its arms replaced by an electric shock cannon and wings that were currently folded at its back.  
Taichi felt a soft touch at his chin and he realized that his mouth was hanging open. He looked down at a slightly smiling Koushirou.

“I know he’s a beauty, just wait until you’re actually in it.” He stepped into the elevator and Taichi followed him. Through the glass front he could take in the Jaeger in all his glorious 82 metres. That made him seven metres taller than the other Jaegers _Soaring Wolf, Red Dragon_ and _Winged Cactus_ , but except for _Winged Cactus_ they were slimmer and therewith more prone to fall if they were taller.

Just when they had reached the top floor, a siren went blaring off.

“A Kaiju has come through the breach, category three, Code Name Ridger. _Winged Cactus_ , prepare for launch!” Local Command Centre Chief Tendo Choi announced.   

Taichi stepped to the railing and looked down at the at once accelerated bustle. The tower around the green Jaeger lit up, with engineers flocking to it. After five minutes, two women in reddish Jaeger suits marched confidently through the hall to the robot. One had bright maroon hair cut into a neat bob, the other’s head shone up to him in a vivid purple, distinguishing them from the all-khaki-coloured staff. They entered the Jaeger, and soon it raised its massive arms and pressed one fist against the open palm of the other hand, signalling it therewith ready for take-off. Taichi watched in awe as the robot was transported out of the Shatterdome on caterpillar tracks.

“Takenouchi and Tachikawa are our cleverest pilots. They have taken down eight Kaijus by now. Ishida and Takaishi as brothers are the fastest; it usually takes them less than half an hour. Their count is five, because _Soaring Wolf_ can’t be put into service against the heavier Kaijus.” Koushirou had stepped beside him to the railing.

“And _Aqua Beetle_? How many have Kido and you taken down?”

“Seven. We catch the bastards that are too heavy for _Soaring Wolf_.”

“And _Red Dragon_? What about him?”

Koushirou embarrassedly scratched his head. “Well, he is currently without a crew. Motomiya and Inoue are not talking to each other. No one knows exactly what has happened but it seems severe. Problem is, their drift compatibility is one of the highest ever recorded in the program. Replacing them is nearly impossible, especially with a takedown count of ten.”

“Ten?”

Koushirou nodded. “Best horse in the stable yet unusable at the moment. It’s a shame.” He sounded as he had given up hope and had arranged himself with the situation.

“And Pentecost accepts that?”

Koushirou shrugged. “He’s not exactly happy about it. But those two not only are the best Pilots, they’re also the most obstinate people any of us has ever seen. Nothing you can do about it, really.”

“But, I mean, can they not put their obstacles aside for the sake of, you know, humanity?”

“Common sense might suggest it but - “

Koushirou was cut off by a second bellowing siren.

“ _Winged Cactus_ is shut off! _Aqua Beetle_ , get ready for launch!”

“Wait, us?” Taichi asked, baffled.

“Yes, us. Now come on.”

Koushirou grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door leading into the head of the robot. Within seconds, he found himself in his first real Jaeger. The new surroundings seemed to shut of the questioning part of his mind and put him into battle state. He stepped into the geared boot locks of the Motion Rig with which he could move nearly as free as on stable ground. While he put on his helmet, technicians connected the spine of his suit to the Rig so the neural signals could be transmitted without interferences to the Jaeger. Koushirou had already started calibrating his hemisphere, and Taichi followed suit only a second later. A feminine robotic voice announced that both hemispheres were successfully calibrated.

A holographic display appeared in front of their faces, showing the coast of west Japan. A red dot signalled the defunct Jaeger whose Pilots were about to be rescued by a wing of helicopters. A bigger blue dot encircled it before it turned to head for the coast line. Beside the radar map a table with information about the approaching Kaiju floated into the display:

Codename: Ridger  
Height: 75 Metres  
Weight: 9000 Tons  
Category: III

Beneath the table was a grainy satellite picture of an eight-legged monster with a husky body and long arms that ended in crayfish-like claws.

“Oh Jesus” Taichi muttered when he took in the picture.

Koushirou chuckled. The loudspeaker crackled and Choi inquired “Rangers, are you ready?”

“Rodger!” Taichi answered and caught the amused wink of his partner in the corner of his eye.

“Then prepare for neural handshake starting in four... three... two... one!”

Then they were sucked into the Drift.

_Koushirou stood behind an open door, eavesdropping on his parents. He had just heard that he’d been adopted and his parents were debating when they wanted to tell him about it._

_Taichi chased a football over a field before passing it to a fellow player. He watched in delight as his friend scored a goal._

_Koushirou was hunched over a laptop, his face displaying satisfaction. Before him on the screen flooded a stream of flickering numbers._

_A dog barked and Taichi and his friends ran away laughing. Then the owner of the dog appeared close by and they weren’t laughing anymore._

Back and forth swung their memories, pleasant and less pleasant ones intermingling before they finally settled back into the present.

Tokyo. 2024. That’s where they were needed at the moment.

It didn’t feel odd for Taichi to be in the brain of somebody he’s never met before. On the contrary, it felt natural, as if that’s what he’d been doing all his life.

They confirmed that their hemispheres were synched to the massive Jaeger, proving it by both raising their right arm, and the Jaeger did the same.

“Then _Aqua Beetle_ is ready for deploy. It is your order to keep the Kaiju off Tokyo as long as possible. Copy?” Now it was Pentecost echoing from the loudspeaker.

“Copy that, sir” Koushirou answered dutifully.

They were quickly brought to the doors of the Shatterdome, and as soon as the doors had closed behind them, they flicked the levers above their heads. Responding at once to the demand, _Aqua Beetle_ roar to live.

“Enfold wings!” Koushirou commanded, and the colossal blue steel wings spread swiftly, lifting the robot into the air after a couple of powerful bats.

They saw the Kaiju staggering just inside the mouth of Tokyo Bay, so there was still a good chance to keep collateral damage as small as possible. The two Pilots didn’t bother about setting down, they grabbed the monster straight out of the air and, while lifting it up a few metres, spun around to steer it back to the open sea. It immediately started clawing at the Jaeger and growled. It swung back and forth, and the Jaeger swayed in the air. As it got harder for the Pilots to keep the robot straight, they dropped their writhing cargo with a splash into the sea. They set the Jaeger down only a few metres away from it and locked their feet into the seabed.

“Now let’s get this thing going!” Taichi muttered through gritted teeth.

“Yes, let’s give this bastard what it deserves!” Koushirou added.

Taichi glanced to him amused, then focused on the beast in front of them. They fastened their right arms in place, and the electric shock cannon started glowing red, sparks flurrying around it. Ridger advanced, its moves looked like it was dancing through the waves.

A faint _pling_ resounded through the head of _Aqua Beetle_ , indicating that the electric shock canon was fully charged. The first shot hit Ridger’s lower abdominal region, and so did the consecutive shots, causing the Kaiju to bend over. But it was not done yet. It issued a terrible war cry and lurched forward, claws spread. One of them caught the right wing of the Jaeger and pulled it forward.

“Damn, why aren’t the wings back inside!” Taichi yelled in irritation.

Koushirou ushered the corresponding command and the wings folded back, but a good chunk of it was torn out. It took a moment for _Aqua_ to regain its footing and the Kaiju seized this second to launch another attack. Now it used its front legs, punching them straight at _Aqua_.

But the Jaeger was faster. It grabbed them with both hands and tore them apart, ripping it from the body. The Kaiju roared in agony. It had no time for recovery, though.

Taichi commanded for the breast plates to open which hid the blizzard rockets. Smoke rose out of the muzzles after the missiles were fired. They hit the Kaiju square in the chest, going straight through it. Taichi and Koushirou could see the skyline of Tokyo through the holes in its body.

“I think it is done. But why don’t we check for a pulse?” Taichi turned to Koushirou with half a smirk on his lips. Koushirou nodded.

They grabbed hold of its left shoulder and punched its face with the uncharged canon. The body was completely limp.

“No pulse.” Taichi concluded and they let it drop into the ocean.

Koushirou pressed two buttons over his head, activating the comm. “Sir, Ridger is dead. And we left him here in the sea, so there will be no case of Kaiju Blue, either. But _Aqua Beetle_ lost half of his right wing.”

“Good job. The research team will get to it shortly. And you get back here now.”

“Aye, sir.” Taichi replied.

“And you Yagami: Leave the responding to Izumi. You’re just making a fool of yourself.”


	2. Soaring Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamato and Takeru are stationed in La Rochelle at the French West Coast.

Even though Jaeger Rangers were treated like superstars, they couldn’t allow themselves airs and graces like them. So, partying in the scene quarters of La Rochelle - not that there were many, mind you - was not a pastime option, even though Takeru Takaishi would have sometimes liked to go out and see something else than the Shatterdome and somebody else than his brother Yamato Ishida or Marshal Moreau. But as it was possible that a Kaiju could somehow sneak into the Atlantic Ocean, even though that seemed highly unlikely, they always had to be on standby. And therefore they couldn’t stay out late at night, because Kaijus - and that was a fact - never came to agreeable hours. So Takeru had to spend his days otherwise. With the approval of the Marshal, he had built a basketball team with a handful of techs and IT people, and even their Kaiju researcher Dr Kirby was part of it. The activity managed to distract them and had the positive side effect that it kept them fit. That was actually the reason why Marshal Moreau had approved of it in the first place. His brother, however, showed no interest in it. When Takeru appeared with the ball, he retreated to a quiet corner with his harmonica, and soon melancholy tunes drifted through the alleyways. But Takeru couldn’t hear that anymore because then he was outside on the helicopter landing field with his co-workers, who had grown to be his friends, under the basket they had fixed to the outer wall of the Shatterdome.

***

It was during such a game of basketball that suddenly indeed the Kaiju siren rang deafening through the Shatterdome.

“What the fuck!” Takeru stopped dead in his tracks, letting the ball drop to the floor. Everybody of his team mates hurried into the Dome, where already their co-working technicians flocked to the French Jaeger _Soaring Wolf_. He was 75 metres high, slim and therefore quite agile. His torso was painted white, the limbs were blue and on his back highlighted were golden wings. He was a beauty, in Takeru’s opinion the most handsome Jaeger in the whole program.

Yamato ran towards him from the other side of the Dome. “So, little brother, our first Kaiju. I have really never expected one to show up at the French coast.

“Me neither. But now it is here. To be honest, I’m really in the mood to kick some ass.”

“Takeru, I’ve never expected you so bloodthirsty!” Yamato scolded him, but he smiled and pulled him towards the Drivesuit Room.

By now, LOCCENT was able to provide more information.  
“The Kaiju is a Category III, Codename Boswick. It’s 60 metres high and weighs 2000 tons. Jaegers, are you ready.”

Yamato and Takeru stepped out of the Drivesuit Room, fully dressed. They raised their arms to indicate that, yes, they were more than ready. Then they proceeded over the bridge into the Conn-Pod. J-Techs expected them, helping them into the Motion Rig. They connected them with the Jaeger while automatically more links around their wrists were implemented. The techs left, leaving the brothers alone in the head of their Jaeger. A feminine robot voice announced that everything was in place.

“Soaring Wolf ready for the big drop” Yamato informed LOCCENT.

“ _Soaring Wolf_ dropping” the leading LOCCENT tech Henri Giroud stated before he pushed several levers. Over at the Conn-Pod holdings, everyone stayed clear off as the clamps disengaged with a squeak. Kept in place by tracks, the head connected with the body of the robot with a loud clank.

“Alright, Rangers, prepare for neural handshake in ten.” Giroud counted down the seconds, then pushed another button. The Takaishi brothers closed their eyes but what they now saw before their inner eye was no surprise to them. Not just because they had Drift exercises before on a regular basis to be prepared. No, most of the memories they had experienced together, it was old news to them. That’s why it was no problem at all to not chase the RABIT.

The feminine voice declared that both hemispheres were calibrated now and the Jaeger could be started up. Both Rangers flicked levers above their head, and in response, the Jaeger’s core flared up.

“Everything is in order. _Soaring Wolf_ will be deployed now.”

Yamato looked to his little brother, expectantly. Takeru returned the look with a light smile on his face. The cockiness from earlier had subsided, replaced by a healthy amount of respect for the situation. But the confidence in him and his brother was still there. Even though this was their first mission, they would going to make it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear the idea of Takeru playing basketball came up because this is canon/headcanon for him, not because the Wei Tang brothers (Crimson Typhoon crew) are doing it in the movie!


	3. Winged Cactus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only all-female crew of a Jaeger, Sora Takenouchi and Mimi Tachikawa, have their home bay in Hong Kong. Jaeger life is not easy but who said that in the first place anyway.

To any outsider, the Hong Kong Shatterdome would be a depressing place. There was nearly no daylight, the metal-covered surfaces always bathed in an eerie glow. There was also never a quiet moment. Around the clock, metal screeched on metal, grinding machines sprayed sparks from the Jaegers and dull hammering resounded through the alleyways in steady echoes. They had had visitors here that fled the turmoil after, at most, half a day, usually screaming.

For Mimi Tachikawa it was home. She needed the noise and the permanent light to go to sleep, absolute silence and darkness just kept her awake. It reminded her of the time she had been trapped in the scrappy remains of a Mark I Jaeger at the bottom of the sea. There had also been nothing but silence and darkness. Those were memories she didn’t need to resurface. That’s why she also had convinced Marshal Ling of the necessity to change her quarters. Now she shared a room with her Co-Pilot Sora Takenouchi. She still sometimes woke up screaming, though. But Sora was always there for her if that happened. Despite this haunting experience, she loved her job as a Jaeger Pilot with all her heart. She loved drifting with Sora, it felt like she was sharing memories with her sister. When they steered their Jaeger _Winged Cactus_ out of the Shatterdome, she enjoyed the views from their lofty height, how the rain splashed across their windshield and how the waves crashed against their long steely legs when they entered the sea. She liked punching the faces of stubborn Kaijus, it channelled all her power into something useful before she dented the metal-covered walls in her quarters instead.

***

Mimi put the book she had been reading to the side and stood up from the lower bunk. She stretched and went to the door of her dorm, stopping in front of the mirror to fix her bright purple hair. When she exited her room, she nearly ran into Mako Mori.

“Ah, pardon me, Mako.”

“No worries, Mimi. Where are you heading?”

“Just to the Dome, having a look at _The Cactus_. I don’t know, I feel I need to see her.” She shoved her hands in the pockets of her cargo pants.

“I understand. She’s something special. I wish I could operate a Jaeger.”

“Oh, Mako. You are such a talented trainee I’m sure you will soon. You know, you are the only person I would trust to go in there with Sora if anything happened to me.”

“Don’t say that. But it honours me that you consider me a substitute. I appreciate your trust. Now we must part, I have to meet Marshal Ling.”

“Bye, Mako! See you in the mess.” She waved and proceeded to the Dome. She climbed the stairs that led up to LOCCENT, but stopped about halfway and sat down on one of the steps, doing nothing but gazing out at the bustle down on the ground. Then her eyes travelled up to her Jaeger. It was hard to describe what she was beside a massive war machine built to fight alien monsters from the sea. Or to be more precise, what she meant to Mimi. She couldn’t be placed into human categories, but she was just as important to her. Maybe family was the most fitting term when you really wanted to stretch human relations.

So she sat there for a while, admiring the work of developers and technicians on the Mark III Jaeger. Though being average-sized with her 75 metres, she still managed to impress everyone who saw her with her hulky appearance. Her head resembled a salad bowl with a wide red-tinted wind-screen. That sounded odder than it was, though. To Mimi, it was just perfect. The rest of the green-coloured robot was also round and heavy, and to justify the name even more, there were little spikes dotted all over her torso. The other part of the name was usually hidden in combat, but came in handy when necessary: red wings that were folded under her sturdy arms. Certainly a peculiar Jaeger, but a reliable one as well. Mimi and Sora had taken down six Kaijus by now; therewith proving wrong many nay-sayers that had predicted their failings just because they were two women in an otherwise male-dominated realm. Some had even been so cruel to prophesy their death at their very first mission. But both women were tough, and at the moment held the second-highest take down score, after the Singapore-based Jaeger _Red Dragon_ who was, coincidently, operated by a man _and_ a woman. So much for that.

“Do you think _The Cactus_ needs some water?” a soft voice from above asked. Mimi looked up to see Sora hovering beside her. She patted the spot next to her on the rung to invite the maroon-haired woman to sit.

“No, she’s still good.” After a pause she asked “When do you think the next Kaiju will come?”

Sora let out a small huff. “I hope that won’t be too soon.” Then she punched Mimi lightly on the upper arm. “Tashikawa, always eager to fight.”

Mimi shrugged. “Well, until we can’t get to those bastards directly we have to wait for them to come us to fight them. I just want to cancel the apocalypse as soon as possible.”

Sora knitted her eyebrows but didn’t say anything. After a while, she prepared herself to say anything but was cut off by a blaring siren. She looked to Mimi in the same moment that Mimi looked to her. “Well done, Mimi, seems like those creatures have heard you” she said through gritted teeth. Mimi coughed apologetically then pulled her partner up so they could make their way over to the Drivesuit Room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was for some reason easier to write than the one with Yamato and Takeru. It’s not because they are women and I’m one, too. Certainly not. But the story came natural to me while I struggled with the one of the Takaishi brothers.


End file.
